Commutator.



W. I. HALLOEK.

COMMUTATQR. APPLICATION FILED APR.3. 19H- Patented May 21, 1918.

WILLIAM I. HALLOCK, OF LOS. ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

COMMUTATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Application filed April 3, 1917. Serial No. 159,444.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I. HALLOCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Commutators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a commutator and particularly pertains to a timing apparatus for controlling the ignition spark of an internal combustion engine.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide means whereby the contact points of a commutator'ring will be held in positive yieldable relation to the brush. Another object of this invention is to provide a series of contact points which possess inherent resiliency and do not depend upon complicated mechanisms to insure that the brush or wiper and the points will positively engage each other.

Another object of this invention is to provide contact points which may be readily positioned around the ring of the commutator and which are subjected to slight wear,

thus insuring that they may be used for an indefinite period. of time without renewal.

Another object of this invention is to provide a rolling face upon the contact maker or brush which permits the commutator to operate continuously without the necessity of supplying oil thereto and thereby entirely eliminating the objectionable results produced by the presence of a quantity of oil within the timer case.

Another object of this invention is to pro- .vide means whereby the contact points may be adjusted in relation to the path of travel traversed by the brush and thereby permit the timing oflthe ignition to be accurately determined and maintained.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a commutator which is decidedly simple in its construction, is so designed as to reduce the friction of the parts to a minimum, and to permit the adjustment and interchange of parts when desired.

Otherobjects will 'appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in plan illustratin the commutator as designed for use with a ourcylinder explosive engine.

elevation as seen on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1

and illustrates the anti-friction mounting of the brush roller as well as the detail construction of the commutator ring and its 1 case.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 indicates a-comm'utator case, which is here shown as formed with a cylindrical wall 11 and a conically shaped end wall 12. Circumscribed by the cylindrical wall is an insulating ring 13. Extending through the ring and the wall at angles of ninety degrees to each other are binding posts 14, 15, 16 and 17 to which electrical conductors 18, 19, 20 and 21 are respectively mounted. These conductors lead separately to the four cylinders of an internal combustion engine. The binding posts are formed with enlarged heads which are positioned within the case and by which resilient contact members 22 are secured against the inner face of the insulatin ring 13. The contact members are prefera ly formed of flat strips of spring steel which swing inwardly from the insulating ring and are formed .with contact points 23. These points are formed by a short bend which is made near the end of each.contact member and which extend with their crests across the circular path of travel of the periphery of the contact roller 24. As a means for adjusting the crests of the contact points in relation to the center of rotation of the contact roller, adjusting screws 25- are provided and mounted to extend radially through the insulating ring 13 and into threaded bores in the circular wall 11 of the case. The heads of the screws are adapted to engage the tips of the contact members and permit them to be drawn outwardly toward the ring so that accurate regulation of the interval between contacts may be had.

The contact roller 24 is here shown as a small wheel havin a circular tire adapted to successively stri e the crests of the contact 1ppints. This wheel is mounted upon anti- 'ction bearin which in turn are supported 'upon an ax e 26 around which the wheel rotates. These bearings are here shown as ball bearings'of common design. This axle is mounted within the outer end of an eccentric arm 27 which in turn is ositioned upon and adapted to rotate wlth a timing shaft 28. It will be understood that the shaft 28 is properly connected to move in synchronism wit the pistons of the engine cylinders.

In operation, the binding posts of the commutator are connected as shown in Fig.

7 caused to successively ride up over the crests V timing shaft,

posts.

of the contact points and establish contact between the ground wire, which is in connection with the contact roller 24, and the lead wires in connection with the binding Due to the inclined approach to the crest of the contact point variation in the timing of the engine may be had by adjust-. ing the free the adjusting screws 25.

It will thus be seen that the commutator here provided is composed of a few parts of simple construction and that the commutator points and contact roller will positively make engagement with each other'without appreciable wear. a

While I have shown the preferred construction of my commutator as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes in the combination, construction, andarrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim: v

1. A commutator, comprising a central an arm secured thereto, a contact roller rotatably mounted at the end of said arm and adapted to move in a circular path of travel with the arm, resilient contact members disposed at intervals along the path of travel of said arm and adapted to be successively engaged by the contact roller, and means whereby the contact members may be adjusted in relation to the path of travel of the periphery of the roller.

2. A commutator, comprising a central timing shaft, an arm secured thereto, a contact roller rotatably mounted at the end of said arm and adapted to move in a circular path of travel with the arm, resilient contact members disposed at intervals along the path of travel of said arm and adapted to be successively engaged by the contact roller, means whereby the contact members maybe adjusted in relation to the path of travel of the periphery of the roller, and an anti-friction bearing upon which the roller is adapted to be mounted,

end of the contact members by I 3. A commutator, comprising a case formed with a circular central bore, an insulating ring positioned within said bore, binding posts extending through the ring and the wall of the case at intervals around the circumference thereof, a seriesof resilient contact members, one of which is secured at one end by each of said binding posts, a contact point at the opposite end of each of said contact members, a roller adapted to describe a concentric circular path of travel within the case and adapted to successively strike the contact points, and adjustable means for regulating the position of the contact oints in relation to the path of travel 0 the roller.

4. A commutator, comprising a case formed with a circular central bore, an insulating ring positioned within said bore, binding posts extending through the ring and the wall of the case at intervals around the circumference thereof, a series of resilient contact members, one of which is secured at one end by each of said binding posts, a contact point at the opposite end of each of said contact members, a roller adapted to describe a concentric circular path of travel within the case and adapted to successively strike the contact points, means whereby the contact points may be adjusted to or from the roller, and an anti-friction bearing upon which said roller is mounted.

5. A commutator comprising a case formed with a circular central bore, an insulating ring positioned within said bore, binding posts extending through the ring and the wall of the case at intervals around the circumzference thereof, contact members attached to the inner ends of the binding posts and consisting of strips of spring metal adapted to swing inwardly from the insulating ring and bent at their free ends to form inwardly extending rounded contact points, and adjusting screws inserted through the free ends of the contact members and screwseated through the case to adjust the contact points to and from the insulating ring, and a roller adapted to describe a concentric circular path of travel within the case and successively strike the contact points.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WHJLIAM l. HALLOGK. 

